Flare



Nov. 26, 1957 T. w. BRENNAN ETAL 2,814,249

FLARE Filed April 30, 1956 INVENTORS Unite Patented Nov. 26, 1957 FLARE Thomas W. Brennan, Sparta, and Murray S. Cohen,

Dover, N. J., assignors to Reaction Motors, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 30, 1956, Serial No. 581,629

1 Claim. (Cl. 102-7) The present invention relates to signalling devices of the type generally known as flares. It relates more particularly, to flares which burn a substance to produce a bright light of high visibility.

The present invention is principally useful as a lifesaving flare for marine use. It is adapted to be placed in the water adjacent to a life boat or life raft by an occupant thereof, after which the flare will operate automatically to produce a brilliant green flame visible for a great distance. The device will float upright in the water with its lower portion submerged and the flame will emanate from its top. The flare must be placed in the water before operation can occur and there is, therefore, no danger of operation of the flare inadvertently. It can be stored for long periods of time with little or no attention and yet is always ready for instant use when needed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a signalling flare which will float in water and is capable of automatic operation soon after its placement in the water.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a signalling flare which will, after contact with water, operate automatically to produce a brilliant green flame of exceptional visibility by burning the chemical compounds monobromopentaborane, formula B,B H described in a co-pending patent application filed on even date herewith April 30, 1956, and bearing Serial Number 581,808, the inventors being Murray S. Cohen and Carl E. Pearl.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a signal light by burning monobromopentaborane in a novel manner.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the drawings and from the descriptions which follows.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the interior arrangement of the flare.

Figure 2 is a view of the cover and bottom of the liquid tank looking upward from beneath the tank.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, use is made of the compound monobromopentaborane for the production of a brilliant green flame upon its burning. Monobromopentaborane is a combustible, lowmelting solid and is utilized in the present invention dissolved in an inert solvent which is miscible in water. Solvents found to be suitable for the purpose of the present invention are anhydrous diethylene glycol, dimethyl ether and dioxane.

Monobromopentaborane is especially well suited for use in the present invention because it:

(a) Reacts rapidly with water (b) Ignites easily (0) Burns with a brilliant green flame (d) Does not burn spontaneously when contacted with air and (e) Because it is soluble in a wide range of solvents.

With reference to Figure 1, an annular container or canister 10 having its top open and its lower end closed, is provided with a shelf or pan 11 preferably of shallow inverted conical form as shown. Pan 11 is circular in shape and is attached at its periphery to canister 10 to define a relatively air tight chamber 35 in which is a metal weight or other ballast weight 33 attached to the interior. of the bottom of canister 10. Immediately above pan 11,

and passing completely through the walls of canister 10 are orifices 28. These are of very small diameter for reasons explained later in the specification.

In the upper portion of Figure 1, will be seen annular cup 12 having its open end toward pan 11. Cup 12 has struts 13 attached to its lower periphery and to canister 10 to make canister 10 and cup 12 a unitary structure. Inside of cup 12 is liquid tank 14 which has its open end periphery fixedly attached to the underside of the top of cup 12 and has filler neck 15 which is in turn closed by vented filler plug 16 threaded into filler neck 15. Filler plug 16 has a passage 16a clear through its shank and a passage 16b communicating therewith and open to the interior of tank 14. A gasket 37 of resilient material is provided between filler neck 15 and plug 16 to prevent leakage of liquid from tank 14 during normal storage and handling. Plug 16 has a knurled outer surface so that it may be rotated conveniently by hand. It will beseen from Figure 1, that as plug 16 is rotated so as to unscrew through hinge 25, and a helical spring 25a is provided about pin 24 to urge cover 23 to swing away fromseal 22 in the plane of the bottom of tank 14. Cover 23 is provided with a hasp 26 through which is looped a slender restraining wire 27 of zinc or other acid corrosive material having its ends attached to tank 14 by means of a screw 27a or other suitable attachment. It will be seen that if restraining wire 27 is removed or parted, cover 23 is urged to swing aside about hinge pin 24 to uncover tank orifice 21.

Between the inner walls of container or canister 10 and cup 12 is an annular pressure-removable sleeve 18. This extends downward from the top of the device to the fulldepth of cup 12 and is in bearing with seals 19 near its top and seals 20 near its lower periphery. Small diameter pipes 17 are located near the bottom of liquid tank 14 and communicate. with its interior and pass through the wall of cup 12 to communicate with the annular space defined by sleeve 18 cup 12 and seals 19 and- 20. A vent pipe 29 of very small diameter is provided on the exterior of container 10 and extends into chamber 36 above pan 11 from its top above the surface of the water.

Crystals, pellets or the like of ammonium chloride 32 are supported by pan 11 in chamber 36.

In operation, the present invention is placed in water after which it will submerge to the approximate liquid level shown in Figure 1, thus allowing water to enter chamber 36 through orifices 28. As the water reaches the ammonium chloride a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid is formed, and as water continues to enter orifices 28 and to contact the ammonium chloride 32, the level of the acid solution rises as the trapped air is forced out through vent 29 to the atmosphere. When the level reaches slender zinc restraining wire 27 it will attack the zinc and eat it away. When the wire parts, spring-loaded cover 23 is released and is then urged by spring 25 to swing about hinge 25 and pin 24 away from its seat upon seal 22 to thereby uncover orifice 21 and thus allow the solution of monobromopentaborane to pass through orifices 21 in small but steady quantity and to drop into the acid solution. As the monobromopentaborane solution comes in contact with the acid, large quantities of hydrogen gasare released.v The hydrogen gas is produced in much.

only by the. friction of the 0 ring. type seals 19 and. 2.0,v

and since this friction. is relatively small, the resultant upward force created upon sleeve 18 willforce it upward and'cause it to be ejected from thetop of thedevice. The hydrogen gas will then follow it up through the vacated narrow annulus or passage 39 andv will pass over catalytic material 30 set in the upper end or periphery'of cup'12 as a ring or band with its face exposed to the gas. This material is such that it will catalyze the reaction of hydrogen with air and cause it to ignite. Among such' catalytic materials are metals of the platinum, palladium and nickel groups. As the hydrogen gas flows upward through passage 39 with considerable velocity, it will entrain monobromopentaborane enters passage 39 from tank 14 through pipes 17 under a static pressure head and because of the aspirating efiect of the high velocity hydrogen gas. As the entrained monobromopentaborane is carried upward to the point wherethe'hydrogen is burning, it too will ignite and in burning will produce a brilliant green flame. and intense light. The flare will continue to operate until all of themonobromopentaborane solution has been used up.

Before the device is placed in the water, filler plug 16 is loosened with. the fingers to allow passage 16a to become-uncovered in orderthat, air may pass through it and passage-16b, into tank 14 to fill 'the space evacuated by theiliquid as it passes from the tank 14.v

Suitable flotation material such as cork is provided in annular space 34. Flotation material is also located in 1 chamber 35 below pan 11 and about weight33. The purpose of ballast weight 33 is to provide a low center of gravity for the device so that it will at all times float in an upright position, even in disturbed water, and will float to a depth sufiicient to allow the water level in cansolution which 7 it through narrow annulus 39, entraining monobromopentaborane solution in the moving hydrogen gas, and then igniting the hydrogen and its entrained monobromopentaborane by passing the hydrogen over a material catalytic for the reaction of hydrogen in air. Because of the monobromopentaborane present, a brilliant green flame useful as a signal light is produced. Earlier steps which can be included in the process include forming a dilute-acid: solution by adding water to ammonium chloride and then forming thehydrogen gas by adding a solution of monobromopentaborane to the acid solution.

While.- -there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of this invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What isclaimed is:

A signallingfiare, comprising,. an open-topped annular canister, meansfor closing. all of its top except a narrow annulus about the inner periphery of said canister, a vented tank containing a solution of monobromopentaborane, conduit means connecting the tank with the annulus, .an .orifice in. the bottom. of the tank, a springloadedcoven for said orifice, sealing. means between said cover and tank, an. acid-corrosive, restraining wire attached tosaid, cover and to a fixed portion of the flare, means. for forming an acid. solution in said canister in the vicinity of the Wire upon the entry of water to the canister, orifice means for allowing entry of water thereto andfor venting, air trapped therein, pressure removable closure means for saidannulus, and material at annulus closing. means. with resultant flow of hydrogen gas through the vacated annulus and entrainment of monobromopentaborane, and ignition of the hydrogen gas and,

entrained monobromopentaborane at the upper periphery of the annulus by virtue of the contact of the hydrogen with the catalytic material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gentzel Mar. 1, 1938 Farrow Nov, 16, 1943 

